Posts Tagged by AWEA
Lots of Diversity at the American Wind Energy Association Show
| May 25, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Wind Energy |
I spent a few happy hours walking around the wind power show here in Anaheim yesterday, put on by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Whenever I go to the major wind and solar trade shows, I’m struck with a number of observations:
Scope: I find myself in a convention center where thousands of exhibitors sprawl over half a million square feet, but I realize that this very show, if it were held 10 years ago, could have fit neatly in my living room.
Geographic Diversity: Though everyone speaks some level of English, it’s certainly not the first language for a great number of exhibitors. Those without a working command of German and Mandarin are unable to take part in some of the richest conversations.
Business Diversity: Many hundreds of different business disciplines are represented – some with only tangential relevance to the subject at hand. Sure, there are tons of people with variations of the wind turbine theme: different sizes and materials, some with gears, some (more all the time) with direct drive, and unique approaches to efficiency, noise reduction, safety, reliability, etc. But in addition to the folks with the actual turbines, I met people whose products and services are not at all unique to the wind power industry: folks who protect people from falling off things, forge large (100-pound) bolts, lift stuff with winches, do the windings in generators, sell wrenches the size of golf clubs, and provide tape to repair the leading edge of the blades as they become damaged from sand, hail, and even rain over the years of constant operation.
Quite an interesting day.
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[The Vector] Low Cost Power from High Altitude Winds
| December 11, 2010 | Posted by Aedan-Kernan under Wind Energy |
A near full-scale prototype of an airborne wind energy system that generates power from constant, high-speed, high-altitude winds will be tested in Piedmont, Italy, in the coming weeks.
When fully operational, KiteGen should be capable of generating 3MW of power. The KiteGen concept was recognized at the Copenhagen Climate summit as among the top 20 leading innovations.
The prototype 150m2 kite will be automatically operated from a revolving dome at ground level – similar to a ship’s gun turret – that contains the electronic control systems and the mechanism to feed the kite in and out. As the kite climbs its fast-turning cable spool generates electricity. When the kite reaches its maximum height, tension on one side is released and the kite begins to drop groundwards. The falling cable is rapidly rewound, needing only a fraction of the energy that was generated as the kite climbed. Once the kite reaches its minimum height, tension is restored to both sides of the kite and it starts to climb once more. When the system has been fully tested, it is intended to use a 500m2 kite. Read More
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[The Vector] Former Senator Daschle and Newly-Formed Clean Energy Coalition Call on Obama for Action
| August 1, 2010 | Posted by Kathy-Heshelow under Renewables - Politics |
Leadership action that Vectoris following was announced shortly after Obama’s Oval Office speech. It comes from former Senator Tom Daschle (Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress) and a coalition of clean energy industries. Coalition members include, among others, the American Wind Energy Association, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, the Biomass Power Association, the Geothermal Energy Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association.
At a press conference on June 23rd, the coalition called on the White House and Senate to take urgent action on legislation for clean energy. Read More
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[The Vector] Small Wind Turbines Make Advances with Ordinary Americans
| July 28, 2010 | Posted by Kathy-Heshelow under Wind Energy |
The EIA chart below shows the percentage of all energy and renewable energy categories produced and consumed in the U.S. Note which are the leading categories of renewables and the relationship to wind. Read More
